Eastern Ontario Fastball Blog

A blog dedicated to news about the Greater Ottawa Fastball League and other happenings in the world of fastball / fastpitch softball in eastern Ontario and western Quebec, with occasional stories featuring Mrs Fitzroy Fastball, Fitzroy Fastball Junior and the Caveman. If you have info to send on, send me an email at fastball[at]fitzroyharbour.com. Follow @fitzroyfastball on Twitter.

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Friday, July 31, 2009

Doubleheader in Carp results

Carp 3 Orleans 3

In the first game of the doubleheader in Carp on Thursday, I4C and the Gators tied at 3. Jeff Barber started and Cory Alkerton finished for Orleans. Neil Cooke threw for Carp.

Carp finishes the season with a 9-7-4 record, comparable to their 10-8-2 finish in 2008. I4C will end up in 5th place and will face either Manotick or Orleans, depending on the final game of the season.

Fitzroy 3 Orleans 0

The final result of the nightcap was a 3-0 win for Fitzroy Harbour West Carleton Electric over Orleans Gators.

Bud Hanlon had the complete game win, scattering 6 hits for the 'Trics first shutout of the year. Chad Hargrove took the loss for Orleans despite throwing a three hitter.

Fitzroy Harbour WC Electric finish their 'rebuilding year' at 5-14-1, down from 10-7-3 in 2008. Fitzroy will be in eighth and face Greely in the "play in" game for the right to face Stittsville in the quarter-finals..

After a tie and loss on Thursday, Orleans will finish in seventh place in the GOFL and will face second seed Team Easton in the first round of the playoffs. Orleans still needs to finalize a make up game against Manotick as the standings could be affected.

WC Electric scored two in the first to set the tone. Jon Daley walked, moved to second on Neil Murphy's sac bunt, took third on a wild pitch and scored on Trevor Barton's single. Barton moved to second when Jeff Cavanagh walked, and scored on Steve Cavanagh's single. When Steve Johnson walked, the bases were loaded but Hargrove got out of the inning with a "K".

Orleans had two on in the first and loaded the bases in the fifth and seventh, but could not put a run across as Hanlon had some timely strike outs and ground balls. Joel Langford was the offensive star for the Gators, going 3-4 despite not hitting a ball out of the infield.

Fitzroy's third run of the game was plated in the sixth. Jeff Cavanagh was hit by a pitch leading off, and eventually moved to second with two out. Andy Barber's single scored Cavanagh to make the score 3-0.

Team Quebec will be familiar to many local fastball players and fans - they have participated in several local tournaments including the ISC II Qualifier in Ottawa. Matt Greer from the Quyon Flyers is on the team's roster and will be pitching and plahying "le shortstop".

Napanee Express are one of four teams from Ontario - they will feature Mickburg's own Joran Graham, who also plays for the Quyon Flyers.

Fingal Juniors from southwestern Ontario also have some local flavour. Joel Langford and Chad Hargrove from the Orleans Gators are on the Fingal roster. Both Joel and Chad will also be joining Quyon Flyers at this year's Tournament of Champions in mid-August.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Remaining GOFL games and playoff possibilities

There have been 86 games played in the GOFL season as of Weds night and four games remain. Playoff matchups will not be determined until the last game as third, fourth, sixth and seventh are still to be determined.

The Thursday night doubleheader in Carp sees I4C Victory face Orleans at 7pm (#64), with WC Electric to face the Gators in the late game (#53).

Carp will finish fifth and Fitzroy will finish eighth, but Orleans could conceivably move up on placing into the sixth spot depending on how they perform in their three remaining games.

Easton and Greely will play on Tuesday August 4th in North Gower at 8pm (#85) in a game that will not affect placement in the standings but will give the Eagles a chance to break the goose egg and get in the win column for 2009.

The final game to be made up at a date and time to be determined is the Manotick / Orleans game (#25). If the Printers win or tie, they can move up to third spot.

Wednesday night results - with more details

Stittsville 7 Quyon 0

Stittsville beat Quyon 7-0 in the first game of the doubleheader in Manotick. Darren Featherstone had the win with a 1 hitter in the five inning mercy rule game. Matt Greer took the loss, throwing in his third game in two nights.

Quyon finishes with an 11-7-2 record. The Flyers had a 12-5-2 record (one game not played) in 2008.

The Flyers will have to wait to see what happens in the Orleans / Manotick make up game to see if they finish third or fourth. If Manotick wins or ties, they would get third, but if the Printers lose, the Flyers take the third seed.

Stittsville 4 Orleans 2

The second game in the doubleheader in Manotick saw Stittsville win again 4-2 over Orleans. Dan Bradley had the win in relief of Scott Herriot. Cory Alkerton took the loss and had relief from Chad Hargrove.

The 56ers finish the season in first with only one defeat and a 17-1-2 record, improving on their 13-4-3 finish from 2008.

The Gators now need to earn at least 5 points in their three remaining games if they want to move up from seventh into sixth.

Team Easton 1 Greely 0

Greely loses another one-run game to remain winless on the season as Easton wins 1-0.

Corey Costello had a one hitter with 18 k's for Easton. Ryan Chatten threw well for Greely and gave up their only run in the bottom of the 7th.

The Eagles will have another shot at Team Easton on Tuesday Aug 4 in North Gower to try and claim their first win of the campaign.

Orleans Athlete to play in 2009 Midget Girls Canadians

from Claude Couturier

Lise Couturier, a local pitcher from Orleans has been playing Tier One ball for the Midget Mississauga North Tigers Acton this season. Her team has finished third at the Provincials in Guelph going 7-2. The team has represented Ontario well this summer displaying a record of 54-9 while winning several Ontario and US tournaments.Lise's team will be competing in Brampton as Ontario 3 at the Canadian Midget Girls Championships from August 1st to August 9th.

Quyon doubleheader details

Mo Laframboise provides some details on the doubleheader in Quyon last night

Quyon 4 Greely 3

First game was another close Quyon / Greely game. Greely went up 2-0 early on, but Quyon came back to go up 3-2 in the third inning. In the 5th Greely scored one to tie the game at 3s. Quyon answered right back with one in the bottom as Dennis McCleary drew a walk and then scored on an RBI double by Shawn Laframboise to the gap in left-center.

Ryan Cox started for Greely but left with a lower body injury early on. Gord Flannery came on in relief with the lead and ended up giving up three runs. Ryan Chatten closed the game and ended up taking the loss. Matt Greer pitched all 7 for Quyon, taking the win.

Quyon 11 Orleans 3

Quyon won 11-3 against Orleans in 5 innings in the second half of the doubleheader. Jeff Barber (2.2 IP) took the loss with relief from Chad Hargrove (1.1 IP). Matt Greer (4 IP) had the win with relief from Earl Kearns (1 IP).

The difference in this one was the third inning when Quyon plated 9 runs, including 4 HRs. Greer led off the inning with a solo shot to left. Other HRs in the inning came from Steve McCord, Nick Armitage, and Joe McCleary. Hargrove came in in relief this inning to face McCleary.

Orleans responded in the top of 4, loading the bases with none out. Two runs would score on the ensuing ground balls however a 4-3-6 double play would kill the momentum and end the rally at 3 runs.

In the fifth, Kearns came in and induced a ground ball and fly ball out on his first two pitches, and then struck out the next batter to end the game.

Stittsville seals up first overall

Stittsville 56ers will finish the GOFL season in first place after an 11-6 victory over the Blitz last night at the Grove. Dan Bradley had the win.

In Quyon the Flyers won both of their matches to leapfrog up to third place. They can now finish no worse than fourth. Quyon edged Greely 4-3 in the opener and thumped Orleans 11-3 in the late game. Matt Greer had both pitching victories.

The Blitz will finish the season in sixth unless the Gators win 3 or more of their remaining 4 games. The Blitzos are the first team to complete their schedule and end the season with a very respectable 8-11-1 mark, improving over their 3-12-5 record from 2008.

See ya Sammy

Good luck to Sam Oliver and family as they move back home to Newfoundland. I had hoped for some parting words of wisdom for the blog from Sammy - hopefully he will advise us of his status once he's safely back on the Rock.

Johnny Craig has taken over the reigns of the 56ers. Welcome to the world of team organization JC!

GOFL Week 12

Make up games continue in Week 12 as the GOFL season winds down.

Tonight (Tuesday) in Quyon, the Flyers host a doubleheader with the Greely Eagles in for the early game and Orleans with the late game. Stittsville is also hosting the Blitz tonight at 8:30 at the Grove.

Wednesday has Team Easton hosting Greely in Stittsville at 8:30. As well, a doubleheader has been scheduled in Manotick on Wednesday night. Quyon will face Stittsville in the first game and Manotick is scheduled to face Orleans in the late match up.

Thursday night in Carp will feature a doubleheader as well, with I4C facing Orleans in the first game and West Carleton Electric playing the Gators in the finale. Both games are Gators "home games".

Friday, July 24, 2009

GOFL standings

With 80 games complete and 10 to go, the GOFL standings are pretty crowded at the top and few positions are finalized.

1. Stittsvile 30 points, 3 games remaining (vs. Blitz, vs. Quyon, at Orleans). The 56ers just have to get two points in their remaining games to lock up first place. The lowest they can finish is second place.

2. Team Easton 27 points, 2 games remaining (vs. Greely, at Greely). Easton will be in at least second place after sweeping their doubleheader last night in Carp, and they still have a shot at first though they would need some help. If Easton sweeps the winless Eagles in their remaining games, they would need the 56ers to lose all three of their remaining games to take first. If Stittsville were to lose two and tie one, Easton would take first on the basis of more wins.

3. Manotick 23 points, 1 game remaining (at Orleans). The Printers can't go higher than their current position in third and could finish fourth. If Manotick ends up tied with Carp in points, they hold the tiebreaker in head to head. They also hold the tiebreaker over Quyon by virtue of head to head run differential.

4. Carp 21 points, 1 game remaining (at Orleans). I4C can't go higher than fourth in the standings and could conceivably finish sixth. Based on head to head, Carp would lose a tiebreaker with Manotick and with Quyon.

5. Quyon 20 points, 3 games remaining (vs. Orleans, vs. Greely, at Stittsville). The Flyers could go as high as third and could fall to sixth. They would lose a tiebreaker with Manotick but hold the tiebreaker over Carp. Quyon essentialy controls their finish - win all three games, they get third.

6. Blitz 17 points, 1 game remaining (at Stittsville). The Blitzos can't finish over .500 but they got pretty close this year. They can't finish any higher than sixth, and could fall to seventh if Orleans gets hot to finish the season.

7. Orleans 12 points, 5 games remaining (vs. Fitzroy, at Quyon, vs. Carp, vs. Manotick, at Stittsville). The Gators have the most games to make up and could finish as high as fourth but no lower than seventh. They hold the tiebreaker over the Blitz, would lose the tiebreaker with Carp and would have to beat Quyon by more than 5 runs to hold the tiebreaker with the Flyers.

8. Fitzroy 9 points, 1 game remaining (at Orleans). WC Electric is stuck in eighth and will face Greely in the one-game playoff play-in to see who plays the best-of-three against the top seed.

9. Greely 1 point, 3 games remaining (at Quyon, at Team Easton, vs. Team Easton). The Eagles will finish in the last spot and face Fitzroy in the play-in game.

Canada goes 7-0 in prelim round at the ISF Worlds

(Saskatoon,SK) – The Canadian Senior Men’s National Team finished the round-robin portion of the ISF Men’s World Championship by beating Puerto Rico 8-1 in five innings,giving them a 7-0 record and first place in Pool B. Starting pitcher Derek Mayson (North Vancouver, BC) gave up a homerun to the game’s very first hitter,but bounced back by striking out eight batters in the five inning win. Canada will play the United States at 8:30pm CST on Friday in their first elimination round game. By finishing in the top two of their division, Canada has alsoearned “double-life” in the elimination round.

After getting ahead on the game’s first hitter, Mayson left a pitch over the plate and Antonio Rivera hit it over the centerfield fence, giving Puerto Rico an early 1-0 lead. Canada got that run back in the bottom of the second, when Colin Abbott (Portugal’s Cove, NL) led off the inning with a solo shot to rightfield. Later in the inning, Canada took the lead when Sean O’Brien (St. John’s,NL) hit a double to left field to score Dale Levy (St. Mary’s, ON), who had walked.

With two outs in the third, Ian Fehrman (Townsend, ON) was hit by a pitch, followed by a solid hit by Colin Abbott to centerfield. Steve Mullaley (Freshwater, NL)then hit a solid grounder to short, but the shortstop did not get the bounce he was hoping for and the ball rolled into centerfield, allowing Fehrman to score and placing runners on second and third. Dale Levy then followed with a single up the middle to score both runners, increasing Canada’s lead to 5-1.

The red hot Canadian bats kept coming in the fourth, as Sean O’Brien led off with a single and Rob Giesbrecht (Landmark, MB) doubled to set up runners on second and third once again. Jeff Ellsworth (St. Lawrence, PEI) then hit a grounder that was thrown to home to retire O’Brien at the plate, but Keith Mackintosh scored Giesbrecht from third with a single. Ellsworth later scored on a passed ball to give Canada the 7-1 lead. The red and white ended the game on the run rule in the bottom of the fifth, when Giesbrecht drove in Dale Levy from third with a single.

Derek Mayson allowed only one run on three hits, and struck out eight batters over five innings, working a very effective changeup that repeatedly fooled the opposing hitters. At the plate, Colin Abbott, Dale Levy and Rob Giesbrecht each collected two hits for Canada, with Jeff Ellsworth, Keith Mackintosh and Sean O’Brien each adding one. Levy drove in two runs, while Abbott scored twice.

With the preliminary round now complete, Canada (first place in Pool B) will take onthe United States (second place in Pool B) at 8:30pm CST in their first playoff game. The Canadian team has called for a “sea of red”, encouraging all fans in attendance to wear red. Prior to the game between Canada and the United States, undefeated New Zealand (first place in Pool A) will take on their rivals from Australia (Second place in Pool B) at 6:30pm. Earlier in the afternoon, Japan (third in Pool A) will take on Argentina (fourth in Pool B) at 1:00pm, and Venezuela (third in Pool B) will play Great Britain (fourth in Pool A) at 3:30pm.

In other scores on the final day of the preliminary round, Denmark edged Philippines 2-0, the Czech Republic hammered Indonesia 8-1, the United States outscored Mexico 11-5, Botswana surprised Great Britain 5-1, Australia shut out Argentina 8-0, Venezuela thumped South Africa 10-1, and New Zealand shaded Japan 5-3.

Thursday night in Carp

Despite the rainy weather on Thursday night, both GOFL games at the doubleheader in Carp were put in the books.

Ottawa Team Easton 8 Carp I4C Victory 0

from Cory Morrison

In the first end of a double header at the Carp Fairgrounds last night, Easton scored five runs in the 5th to mercy Carp 8-0.

Dave Tubman homered in the 3rd to put Easton up 1-0.

Three consecutive singles by Cory Morrison, Chad Milne, and Pat O'Connor followed by a Scott Marion sac fly put Easton up 3-0 in the 4th.

Scott Marion doubled off the top off the fence in 5th scoring two more runs and capping a 5 run inning in the 5th for Easton.

Jeff Murphy and Brad Porter combined for the win while Neil Cooke took the loss

Ottawa Team Easton 4 Fitzroy Harbour WC Electic 3

The second game, shortened to six innings by rain, was a 4-3 victory for Easton over West Carleton Electric.

Brad Porter had the win, going three innings in relief of starter Jeff Murphy while Steve Cavanagh went the distance for Fitzroy.

Easton scored a run in the bottom of the first. Dave Tubman led off with a walk and took second and third on wild pitches. Cory Morrison drove Tubman in with a single.

Fitzroy answered back in the fourth to tie the game 1-1. Jeff Cavanagh singled with one out, moved to second base on a wild pitch and scored on his brother Steve's double.

A nice defensive play by Jeff Cavanagh in right field resulted in a double play in the bottom of the fourth, when a line shot was caught by Cavanagh and he caught the runner off the bag with a strong throw to first.

Easton put three on the board in the fifth. Scott Marion led off with a single, and Brad Porter's bunt single put two on with none out. Dave Tubman's homerun made it 4-1 Easton. Kevin Chevrier then singled and Cory Morrison reached on an error, but Steve Cavanagh got out of the jam with a ground ball and two strikeouts.

WC Electric narrowed the gap to 4-3 in the top of the sixth. Neil Murphy reached on a bloop single to lead off the inning. After two strikeouts, Steve Cavanagh helped his cause with a two run homer.

Easton threatened in the bottom of the sixth. With two out, Brad Porter doubled, Dave Tubman reached on an error and Kevin Chevrier walked to load the bases. But a line drive to first ended the inning. At this time the rain was pouring so hard the officials called the game and it ended with a 4-3 Easton victory.

Orleans Rebels Qualify for Senior Women's Nationals

from Scott Searle

The Orleans Rebels qualified for the Canadian Championships for the second year in a row. They did it by beating the University of Western Ontario in dramatic come from behind fashion 4-3 on Saturday afternoon.

They travel to Kitchener to represent Ontario as Ontario 2.

The team boasts several graduates and current members of the OIWFA (university fastball league) as 8 Rebels have played in that league.

Wednesday in Manotick

The Blitz dropped both ends of the doubleheader in Manotick in mercy rule shortened games.

Ottawa Team Easton 7 Ottawa Blitz 1from Cory Morrison

In the first half of a double dip last night in Manotick, Team Easton scored 7 runs in the bottom of the 6th to mercy the Blitz 8-1.

The visiting Blitz opened the scoring in the 1st as Tony Searle singled home Russ Mitchell to put them up 1-0. Easton tied the score in the 4th on a Cory Morrison homerun. In the 6th Kyle Gougon led off with a single followed by a BB to Pat O'Connor then Dave Tubman lofted one over the right field fence to put easton up 4-1. After a walk to Cory Morrison 3 singles off the bats of Chad Milne, Lukas Kamps, and Brad Porter and a triple by Kyle Gourgon the game was called.

Manotick Lomor Printers 10 Ottawa Blitz 1

Manotick used a four run third and a five run fourth to end this one early after 5 innings.

Paul Ceppi had the win for the Printers, while Will Mood had the loss with relief from Derek Bergeron.

Don Cox had a homer for Manotick and was a double away from the cycle.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Softball on ESPN / TSN

This weekend ESPN/TSN gave some exposure to softball. They showed a women's fastpitch game from the KFC Women's World Cup, which is great. (I wonder if every team gets a wee snack of 'dirty bird' KFC post-game. Yummy!)

However, the men's game TSN and ESPN showed was the some cheezy "border battle" between the US and Canadian men's slo-pitch teams. Yeah, apparently we have a national slo-pitch team.

Final score, USA 30, Canada 23. Seriously. What a joke - as astute readers know, the ISF World Fastpitch championship is underway in Saskatoon. (Canada is currently 4-0, as are the defending champs, the Kiwis.). Instead they show slo-pitch.

This is why when you tell someone who has no clue that you play competitive softball, they kind of smile and "say good for you".

Friday night fastball report from The Equity

Wilbur McLean, fastball player and reporter with the Pontiac Equity newspaper has sent on the following article from this week's paper.

WILBUR MCLEANEquity Editor

QUYON • The Quyon Flyers split a pair of one-run games on Friday night at home, losing the second on a late-inning home run.

The Flyers were forced to come from behind in the opening game against their cross-river rivals, Fitzroy Harbour.

After trailing 3-0, the Flyers rallied to eke out a 4-3 win.

Nick Armitage’s double to centrefield scored the eventual tying and winning runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, as both Matt Greer and Dennis McCleary scored.

Earl Kearns scored on McCleary’s infield single earlier in the inning.

Fitzroy took the lead by scoring three runs in the third inning, a pair on a two-run home run and a third tacked on an RBI double.

Quyon starting pitcher Matt Greer struggled with his control somewhat, walking a few batters in his three innings pitched.

He was replaced by Drew Hathway to start the fourth inning and Hathway allowed zero hits and just one walk for the remainder of the contest.

The Flyers got on the board with a third inning solo home run by Luke Young.In the latter game of the doubleheader, Ottawa Team Easton defeated Quyon, 2-1.

It was a tight pitchers’ duel with Hathway and Ottawa counterpart Brad Porter matching each other pitch-for-pitch throughout most of the contest.

The Flyers’ only run was scored on the game’s first at-bat, as leadoff man Greer cleared the fence for a solo shot.

The lead held up for most of the game, until a two-out, two-run home run by Scott Marion in the bottom of the sixth gave Team Easton the runs they needed to secure the win.

The two teams combined for just seven hits between them.

The Flyers were shorthanded for both games, missing outfielder Steve McCord and recent team addition Trevor Walls.

Replacements Kearns and Curtis Daley were plugged into the lineup as a result.

Quyon played in front of its biggest crowd of the season thanks to their fundraising three-pitch tournament that was beginning on the adjacent diamond that night.

About 150 fans took in the Flyers’ games.

Flyers add pair for championshipsThe Flyers have added two of the best young fastball players in Ontario for their run at the North American tier II fastball championships in Iowa and Illinois next month.

Chad Hargrove and Joel Langford, both of the Orleans Gators, will be playing with Quyon. Team catcher Joe McCleary confirmed the additions on Monday.

“Things look very good for us,” wrote McCleary in an e-mail. “We have a team that could do some damage if we get on a roll.”

Joe Allan, an outfielder from Manotick who played for the Flyers at the qualifying tournament, will also join the team.

Hargrove is a pitcher who has accrued a 3.43 earned run average in eight games pitched so far this season in the Greater Ottawa Fastball League.

Langford, a middle infielder, is among the league leaders with a .395 batting average so far this year.

Teams are entitled to add up to three players — maximum one pitcher — to their lineups for the tournament.

Both players will be on a team representing Fingal, Ont. at next month’s Canadian junior fastball championships for players 23 years of age and under.

McCleary also confirmed that Joran Graham will join the team at the tournament.Graham is officially on the Flyers’ roster but has been unavailable most of the season because of work commitments. He has played in only a handful of games.

Graham was a member of the Canadian junior national team at the world junior fastball championships last season and is one of the best young players in the country.

Snappers win pair

The Shawville Snappers continued their excellent season with two big wins last week.The Snappers won both ends of a doubleheader in Micksburg, Ont., defeating the Senior Twins in the opener and the Junior Twins in the second game.

Shawville defeated the Senior Twins 13-4 in a mercy-shortened game and won against the Junior Twins, 7-2, in a game that concluded after six innings, again because of the mercy rule.

Matt Greer pitched complete games in both contests for the Flyers, mixing speeds well to keep hitters off balance while preserving his arm strength over the 11 total innings pitched.

Curtis Daley had a three-RBI triple to blow open the game against the Senior Twins, which had been competitive up to that point.

Wilbur McLean also had three RBIs on two hits against the Seniors.

Against the Junior Twins, the Snappers took a 3-0 lead early and kept chipping away at the Twins for the eventual five-run win. The Snappers scored in four of the six innings played.

The Twins threatened heavily in the bottom of the sixth, loading the bases with two outs but centrefielder Daley made a nice running catch in the gap to end the contest.McLean was four-for-four in the game.

The Snappers’ record now stands at 7-1 for the season. They are in first place in the five-team league.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

GOFL Week 11

Week 11 of the Greater Ottawa Fastball League sees nine games on the slate, including three make up games.

On Monday, the Eagles host Team Easton in Greely at 8:30.

Quyon will host another doubleheader this week, this time on Tuesday as Ottawa Blitz come to town for 7 to face the Flyers, with a second game against Manotick Lomor Printers against Quyon immediately following.

The Flyers go on the road to Stittsville on Wednesday, taking on first place Stittsville 56ers at 8:30. The Wednesday night doubleheader in Manotick will have the Ottawa Blitz as the visiting team, facing Team Easton at 7pm and the Printers at 9pm.

Thursday night in Carp will have a doubleheader of make up games. I4C Victory hosts Team Easton in the first game at 7pm, while Easton concludes its four game week with the 9pm game against Fitzroy Harbour West Carleton Electric. That same night, the Gators will host Stittsville at Pierre Rocque Park in Orleans for a 8:30 start.

By that year, he hopes to see his sport being contested in the Olympics by both men's and women's teams.

"It's very, very important for our sport to get back into the Olympic program because it affects our funding and it affects the development of the sport overall," Quinn said Friday as the men's softball world championship opened in Saskatoon. "The Olympics are such a carrot for young athletes to get into the sport and continue in the sport."

When London plays host to the 2012 Summer Games, women's softball and men's baseball won't be on the program. International Olympic Committee (IOC) members voted to remove those sports during a vote in Singapore four years ago.

Softball is one of seven sports -- along with baseball, golf, karate, roller sports, rugby and squash -- being considered for inclusion in the 2016 Games. IOC executive members are slated to announce the successful candidates next month, but their decision still has to be ratified during the IOC general assembly in Copenhagen, Denmark, in October.

Canadian Olympic Committee president Mike Chambers said the international softball fraternity has properly argued its case.

"Certainly the COC and myself would be pleased if softball is one of the two sports chosen," said Chambers, who participated in Friday's opening ceremonies at Bob Van Impe Stadium. "There are other worthy sports as well, but (softball) would assist the Games in more than one way, including bringing more women to the Olympic Games."

If women's softball is reintroduced for the 2016 Games, the International Softball Federation "would be working very, very hard to get the men in the next time (for 2020)," said Quinn.

Friday night fastball in Quyon

Friday night fastball in Quyon produced two close games on a nice night for ball in front of a good crowd.

Quyon COMBAT Flyers 4 Fitzroy Harbour West Carleton Electric 3

The first game of the doubleheader saw the home team prevail with a come from behind 4-3 victory.

Drew Hathway had the pitching win in relief of Matt Greer, while Bud Hanlon went the distance for the visitors.

WC Electric opened up the scoring with three in the top of the third. Adam Brown walked to lead off the inning, but was put out at second on an attempted sac bunt by Jim Hook. Jon Daley then hit a two run homer for the game's first hit. After a ground out, Trevor Barton singled and then scored on a Troy Wilson double to make it 3-0 'Trics.

In the bottom of the third, Luke Young's solo HR was the first Quyon hit of the game and made the score 3-1.

The Flyers' big inning in the bottom of the fifth put them in the lead. Veteran Earl Kearns led off with a blooper just past first base, earning him a double. After two ground outs, one of which moved Kearns to third, Matt Greer walked to put runners on the corners. Dennis McCleary's infield single scored Kearns. Nick Armitage stroked a liner to centre, eluding the diving centrefielder, and plating what proved to be the tying and winning runs.

The home side had another chance to score in the sixth. Shawn Laframboise hit a single wiht one out, and moved to third on Earl Kearns' single. However, a 6-4-3 double play ended the threat.

Quyon put Drew Hathway in to pitch in the fourth. Only one Fitzroy runner (a Mitchell Taylor walk) reached base against Hathway as he kept the West Carleton bats silent over the final four frames.

Friday, July 17, 2009

Results of Thursday night doubleheader in Carp

Stittsville 56ers 3 Carp I4C Victory 1

In the first game of the double dip, the 56ers defeated I4C Victory 3-1. Dan Bradley had the win for Stittsville. Ryan Bond had all three runs batted in for Stittsville, including a home run. More to follow.

Fitzroy Harbour WC Electric 10 Carp I4C Victory 7

The second game of the doubleheader was a wild one as the visiting West Carleton Electric won 10-7.

Steve Cavanagh had the win for Fitzroy Harbour in relief of starter Bud Hanlon and Andy Barber. Billy Gerber went the distance for Carp.

Jon Daley led off the first for WC Electric with a triple and scored on a I4C error, one of five on the night for the home side.

The Electric put two runs on the board in the top of the third to stake a 3-0 lead. Jon Daley singled, moved to second on a Neil Murphy sac bunt. Trevor Barton then reached on an error. After a pop out, Jeff Cavanagh's single cashed the two runs.

I4C got on the board in the bottom of the frame. Aaron Amo singled, stole second and scored on a Tim Power RBI single.

WC Electric answered with another run in the top of the fourth. Andy Barber singled, moved to second on a Mitchell Taylor sac bunt, tagged up and took third on a long fly to centre and scored on a passed ball.

Todd Storms' solo HR in the fourth for I4C closed the gap to 4-2.

in the top of the fifth inning, Jeff Cavanagh hit a two out double and scored on a Beef Johnson single. Andy Barber then homered, his second of the season, to stretch the lead to 7-2.

Carp continued to chip away, scoring another run in the bottom of the fifth when Aaron Amo singled, moved to second on a ground out and scored on Tim Power's RBI triple.

After Bill Gerber struck out this side in the sixth Fitzroy decided to shake things up in the bottom of the inning and put young Andy Barber in to throw. Carp capitalized on the move, marking four runs to tie the score at 7. Tony MacDonald doubled to start things. Todd Storms' second homer of the night made it 7-5. After another single by Brooks Paziuk, Fitzroy got a double play. But Al Read then singled, moved to second on an Aaron Amo single. Read and Amo then were brought in on a double by Eric Colvin. Steve Cavanagh then came in to get the final out for Fitzroy.

West Carleton Electric scored three in the top of the seventh. Trevor Barton led off with a bunt single. Troy Wilson's sac bunt was misplayed, putting runners on second and third. I4C then elected to intentially walk Jeff Cavanagh, putting Beef Johnson at the plate with the bases juiced. Johnson's double to right centre scored all three runs and gave the 'Trics a 10-7 lead, which held up as Steve Cavanagh shut down Carp in the final inning.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Orleans 4 Easton 3

from Cory Morrison

Orleans comes from behind to defeat Easton 4-3 in a close game at the Grove on Wednesday night. Orleans opened the scoring in the 3rd as Joel Langford doubled to plate Max Serre. Easton answered back in their half as of the 3rd as Dave Tubman and Kevin Chevrier walked then Cory Morrison homered to put the home side up 3-1. Chad Hargrove homered in the 4th to cut Easton's lead in half then Kristian Knapp hit an Rbi single in the 5th to knott the game at 3. Joel Langford's second Rbi double of the game in the 7th put Orleans in the lead for good. Randy Peck hit a 2 out double in the bottom of 7 but Easton was unable to plate him to tie the score.

Four Orléans Gators junior men’s fastball players have been making their mark on diamonds away from the east end on the provincial, national and international stage. Kristian Knapp and Cory Alkerton were members of Team Ontario for the July 7-12 Under-19 International Men’s Softball Championship in Prince Edward Island, while Joel Langford and Chad Hargrove earned berths in the U23 national championships with a team they play for out of St. Thomas, near London, Ont.

The paths the four Gators took to get where they are have a few twists that are a bit irregular in the sporting world. Knapp and Alkerton both live in the Spencerville area and wound up playing for the Orléans Midget team a couple years ago since it was actually the closest competitive fastball team to their hometown.

Langford and Hargrove are both much closer to the east end. For Hargrove, he fell into the sport when he was recruited by a fastball rep team coach while playing Orléans Little League ball as an eight-year-old – the age when baseball players pitch with a similar under-hand style as that employed in fastball.

“It’s a faster pace than hardball – that’s why I play it,” Hargrove explains. “Growing up, it was mostly just because my friends were doing it.”

Friendship actually became an important tool to Hargrove’s fastball career since it was due to the game’s overall sense of camaraderie that he landed with Fingal, the team he’s going to nationals with.

Since there wasn’t a squad from Eastern Ontario entering the qualification tournament, Fingal invited Hargrove along with Langford to join their team. The pair has been playing during the week for the Gators in the Greater Ottawa Fastball League and then traveling on most weekends to tournaments in southern Ontario with Fingal.

“It ended up being a really good fit,” Hargrove notes. “I made some really good friends – I was actually out there the last two weeks just hanging out with them since I had some time off work.”

The Orléans boys had quite a bit of fun on the July 4-5 weekend as they helped Fingal earn a berth in the Aug. 2-9 national tournament in Owen Sound, where the team is gunning for a top-5 finish, Hargrove says.

Hargrove pitched strongly in an opening win at the qualification event, while Langford was the main offensive force with a single, double and triple during Fingal’s second victory. The crowning jewel of the weekend, however, came in a 10-0 win over Napanee – the team that beat out Fingal for the final national berth last year – when Hargrove pitched a no-hitter.

“That game didn’t exactly turn out the way I thought it would,” laughs Hargrove, who didn’t realize at first when the game ended that he actually threw a no-hitter. “I came off and asked, ‘Did they get a hit?’ and everyone said, ‘Yeah, they must have,’ and then we found out they didn’t. It was great.”

Knapp and Alkerton, meanwhile, helped Ontario to a gold medal at the Softball Canada-organized event in PEI.

For Gators coach Gary Hargrove, whose team owns a 5-9 record in league play, the success of his four players doesn’t come as much of a surprise.

“They deserve to be where they are based on their skill level,” he says. “They love the game, they play to their utmost, and they’ve been recognized for that.”

Answer the questions to voice your opinion on services like swimming, skating, child, youth, adult, or senior programming, rental/use of parks or facilities, specialized services (subsidies, special needs), etc. A report will be presented to City Council later this year.

Manotick / Orleans game on Thursday is postponed

Carp tourney cancelled

from Eric Rosenquist

There are not enough teams either committed or seriously interested to go forward at this point, so the tournament planned for the August 7th-9th 2009 weekend in Carp Ontario has been cancelled. Organizers will review things over the winter and see if they can make it work in 2010.

Blitzos defeat WC Electric 5-1

The Ottawa Blitz defeated West Carleton Electric by a score of 5-1 in GOFL play in Fitzroy Harbour on Tuesday night.

Derick Bulley had the complete game win. Steve Cavanagh took the loss with relief from Andy Barber.

The Blitz started in the first scoring two. Andrew Bruce led off with a single, moved to second on a passed ball and moved to third on Derek Bergeron's bunt single. Bergeron then stole second. After a ground out and a pop out, Russ Mitchell was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Ron Hrcyak's single then scored two runs to put the Blitz up by a pair.

The visitors added two more to their lead in the second. Andrew Bruce again singled as did Derek Bergeron, and both of them scored on a Will Mood triple to stake a 4-0 lead.

WC Electric put one on the board in the fourth after Neil Murphy doubled and was brought in on a Jeff Cavanagh single.

Blitz made the lead four once again scoring one in the top of the fifth. Will Mood reached second on an error and scored on a Russ Mitchell single.

Fitzroy threatened in the sixth when Neil Murphy and Jeff Cavanagh both singled and advanced to second and third on a wild pitch, but they were stranded on base.

The Blitzos loaded the bases in the seventh with two out on singles by Will Mood and Derick Bulley plus Russ Mitchell reaching on an error, but Andy Barber managed to induce a ground ball to hold them off the board.

Lackawanna Tourney

For teams that can't get into Au Sable but are still interested in a Northern New York road tour on the second weekend in July, the Lackawanna Mickey Brennan Memorial is an interesting option. Lackawanna is near Buffalo, and coincidentally not that far from Darien Lake.

This year's double knock out event had 13 teams (not including one late withdrawal) and included the champs Ashland Stockpack, the New York Bombers and Niagara Snappers. Other decent teams included Dunkirk Fastpitch (who had Bill Hillhouse throwing), Lackawanna LA Lounge (Barry Van Hooser) and Lackawanna Big John's Orange (Gord Scott).

Things are a little spread out as they have three diamonds in three different locations but Junior Rodriguez and the gang put on a good event. No beer garden, but BYOB was not a problem as spectators had their own fully stocked coolers, including at least one cooler full of duty-free 50.

Bud Hanlon, Jon Daley and yours truly attended with the Elkland ESA Thunderbellys (finished 1-2) and thoroughly enjoyed the weekend and facing some decent teams and good pitching.

Speaking of Elkland, they still have room in the Labour Day tournament - see this earlier posting for more info. Great guys that put on a classic tourney in an outstanding venue.

Greely gets their first point of the season

Greely DNTW Eagles and the Quyon COMBAT Flyers tied 4-4 at Andy Shields Park on Monday night. With the tie, Greely 'broke the goose egg' and scored their first point of the 2009 campaign.

Shannon Borho started for the Eagles, while Gord Flannery earned the tie in relief. Matt Greer pitched all seven for Quyon and also hit a solo home run.

The game ended in dramatic fashion. With two Eagles on and two out in the bottom of the seventh, with Quyon leading 4-2, Anil Hayne hit a clutch 2 RBI double to tie the game, but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple to end the match.

The ISC has announced the final rankings for the teams playing at the Tournament of Champions in Iowa. Team Easton is second in the rankings and received one first place vote amongst the twelve rankers. Quyon is ranked 27 while Donnacona comes in at 23.

GOFL Week 11

Tuesday night will have the Blitz travelling to Fitzroy to face WC Electric at 8:30 and Team Easton hosting Manotick at the Grove in Stittsville at 8:30.

Wednesday doubleheader in Manotick see Stittsville in town for two rainout makes versus the Blitz (7pm) and the Printers (9pm). Also on Wednesday is Team Easton hosting another game at the Grove with Orleans visiting for a 8:30 start.

Another doubleheader in Carp this Thursday sees I4C hosting two, with the 56ers at 7pm and West Carleton Electric at 9pm. Orleans will host Manotick at Pierre Rocque at 8:30 on Thursday as well.

Finally, Quyon will be the site for Friday night fastball, with WC Electric facing the Flyers at 7pm and Team Easton playing the Quyon team at 9pm in what is actually an Easton 'home game'.

The ISC has announced the pools for the Tournament of Champions (ISC II) in Iowa this August. Forty teams will compete, with our area represented by Ottawa Team Easton and Quyon Flyers. Note that has been a recent change in teams in the Flyers pool as the Villa Grove, Illinois team dropped out.

Week 10 results

As you may have guessed, Fitzroy Fastball was out of town last week hence the lack of blog updates as there was no access to the Inter-web at the amusement park in dirty ol' Darien Lake, NY.

Here is a round up of last week's games, not including the Monday night WC / Greely game already reported on before I packed last week:

Stittsville 17 Greely 2 (Monday night second game)

The 56ers hit three homeruns in a 5 inning victory over the Eagles. Dan Jessiman, Sam Oliver and Ben Gigliotti all hit dingers, while Darren Featherstone had the win on the slab.

Greely led 2-1 after the first inning, but back to back six run innings by Stittsville put the game out of reach. Shannon Borho took the loss and had relief from Ryan Cox and Ryan Chatten.

Blitz 4 Manotick 1 Easton 3 Manotick 0(Wednesday night doubleheader)

The Printers dropped both in a doubleheader in Manotick, falling to the Blitzos 4-1 in the first game, and getting no-no'd by Brad Porter and Easton 3-0 in the second game. I don't have any details on the first game, but Spud Morrison supplied the following on the second match:

Brad Porter throws the 1st no-hitter of the year as Easton tops Manotick 3-0 Wednesday night in Manotick. Easton opened the scoring in the 4th as Chad Milne led off with a single followed by a Cory Morrison walk. Andy Davey then singled to score Milne and Morrison went to 3rd and eventually scored on a wild pitch to put Easton up 2-0. Easton added to their lead in the 6th as Morrison led off with a single and went to second on a ground back to the pitcher. Pat O'Connor then singled but Morrison was thrown out at home and O'Connor took second on the throw. Lukas Kamps followed that with a single to plate O'Connor and cap the scoring at 3-0.

Congrats to the Ottawa Blitz and Carp I4C Victory on their semi-final showings at the 10-team tournament this past weekend in Au Sable Forks, NY. Quyon Flyers also participated as did several other GOFL players on the local Gordon Oil team.

The Blitz lost to the ISC II #1 Waterdown Hammer 1-0 in the semi-finals, while Carp lost to Razzano's Trucking 6-5 in 10 innings.

Kanata Pirates Girls win silver

The movies show us that pirates love gold. This goes as much for the ball-playing Pirates of today as the seafaring pirates of old.

But gold proved elusive for the Pirates Novice Tier 2 girls’ fast pitch team at the recent annual Paul Currelly tournament in Cobourg, Ontario. The Pirates sailed up against the Peterborough Thunder in the gold medal championship game of the tournament after both teams went undefeated to get there. This final championship game was a close contest but the Pirates came up just a little short, losing 6-4. However, the Pirates did get some plunder from their performance, bringing home the silver medals from the tournament.

The Pirates Novice Tier 2 girls’ fast pitch team is affiliated with the Kanata Minor Softball Association and although based in Kanata, the team includes players from Stittsville, Orleans, Greely, Pembroke and Prescott as well as Kanata.

The Pirates are still marauding around in search of precious gold medals. The team has upcoming tournaments in Binghamton, New York and Whitby as well as the provincial championships in Windsor.

Monday, July 06, 2009

WC Electric 7 Greely Eagles 3

In the first game of the doubleheader in North Gower on Monday night, West Carleton Electric defeated the Greely Eagles 7-3.

Steve Cavanagh had the win in relief of Bud Hanlon, while Gord Flannery took the loss with relief from Ryan Cox.

In the first inning, Jon Daley led off for WC Electric with a single, but was caught stealing. After a strikeout, the Electric loaded the bases with three consecutive singles from Jeff Cavanagh, Neil Murphy and Steve Cavanagh, putting Mitchell Taylor to the plate. Taylor hit a home run deep into the soy beans in right field, his first career grand slam, to put the visitors up 4-0.

Greely responded right away as Tom Edwards led off the bottom of the first with a solo home run. Then with one out, Anil Hayne tripled and scored on a Shannon Borho single making the tally 4-2 for the visitors.

The Eagles threatened to put runs across in the bottom of the third. Mike Savoie led off with a single. Anil Hayne then attempted a sacrifice bunt which was misplayed at the bag to put runners on first and second with none out. After a pop up, a ground out then moved the runners up 60 feet. Steve Tsonos then drove a ball hard to third baseman Steve Cavanagh, which tipped off his glove, deflected to shortstop Jon Daley who then made a nice throw for the 5-6-3 put out to end the inning.

Fitzroy added three in the fifth inning. Jeff Cavanagh led off with a double and moved to third on a ground out. A Steve Cavanagh single plated his brother. Then Mitchell Taylor walked. Both Steve Cav and Taylor advanced a base on a ground out. Adam Brown's single over third base cashed in two runs to put the score to 7-3.

In the top of the seventh it looked like the Electric might add to their lead, but two nice defensive plays prevented runs from scoring. With one out, Steve Cavanagh reached first on an error. Then Mitchell Taylor hit the ball hard to the gap. Cavanagh attempted to score, but a good throw from centrefielder Tom Edwards had the out at the dish. Then Bud Hanlon stroked a hard one to right centre that Edwards dove for, coming up with the catch to end the inning.

The Eagles scored a final run in the bottom of the seventh. Tom Edwards walked with one out and advanced on a Mike Savoie single. Both runners moved a base on a wild pitch. Edwards scored on a Anil Hayne ground out, but that was it as the final score was 7-3 for West Carleton Electric.

Week 10 in GOFL

Week 10 in the Greater Ottawa Fastball League has seven games on the schedule.

Monday sees the home of Johnny and Robert Craig, North Gower, host men's fastball for the first time in while, with the Greely Eagles relocating their for the night to host a doubleheader. West Carleton Electric is in for the first game at 7pm, with the Stittsville 56ers play the night cap at 9pm.

The Tuesday game in Quyon has been postponed due to player issues with the Orleans Gators.

The weekly Wednesday doubleheader in Manotick sees the Printers playing the Blitz at 7pm following but the Printers vs Team Easton at 9pm (Easton home game). Wednesday will also see Quyon visit the Grove to face the 56ers at 8:30pm.

Another doubleheader is on the schedule Thursday, as I4C hosts the Gators at 7pm and then I4C "visits" Team Easton at 9pm.

Sunday, July 05, 2009

Blackburn Warriors seek players July 16-19

Blackburn Warriors of the Blackburn Men's Fastball League are having trouble filling a roster for the league tournament. They are looking for another pitcher and a couple of position players. The tournament is from the 16th to the 19th of july.

Thursday night in the GOFL rained out

Easton edges Greely 2-1 in Canada Day classic - now with details

from Cory Morrison

At the second annual Canada Day classic in Kenmore, Easton came from behind to top Greely 2-1 in front of a good sized crowd in Kenmore on Canada Day. Brad Porter got the win for Easton while Shannon Borho took the loss. Greely opened the scoring in the second as the result of a dropped 3rd strike and 2 consectutive singles. Easton tied the game in the 4th as Chad Milne singled then was plated by a Pat O'Connor triple. The visiting side took the lead for good in the 6th as Cory Morrison tripled and was driven in by Chad Milne. Brad Porter was able to pitch out of a jam in the 6th and got the Eagles in order in the 7th to secure the win.

Quyon 11 Carp 0

from GOFL.ca / Shawn Laframboise

The Flyers bats came alive early as Quyon beat Carp 11-0 in the second half of a home-and-home on Tuesday. Drew Hathway had the win for Quyon throwing all five innings. Neil Cooke took the loss with relief from Trevor Wood.

I4C Carp threatened in the top half of the first. After leading the game off with a single, Eric Colvin stole second base. After striking out the next two batters, Hathway surrendered a single to Al Read, however Colvin was thrown out by the left fielder.

Quyon put nine batters to the plate in each of the first two innings to score all 11 runs.

Matt Greer led off the home half of the first inning with a double. After being sacrificed to third by Dennis McCleary, he scored on a Nick Armitage single to left field. After back-to-back doubles by Hathway and Joe McCleary, Shawn Laframboise hit a two-run homerun to left-center.

In the second inning, Dennis McCleary singled with one out, and Armitage followed that up with a two-run homer of his own. Hathway then singled, and Joe McCleary hit a two-run shot. Finally, after a Steve McCord double, Laframboise homered for the second time to plate the 10th and 11th runs.

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Barber brothers battle in Fitzroy, Orleans wins 6-4

In game 2 of the doubleheader in Fitzroy Harbour on Tuesday, the Barber brothers faced off as big brother Jeff (win) had the ball for Orleans Gators and Andy (loss) got the start for Fitzroy Harbour WC Electric. Orleans won the game 6-4.

Jamieson leads Stittsville to 8-3 win over WC Electric

Kyle Jamieson led the Stittsville 56ers to a 8-3 win over West Carleton Electric in GOFL play on Tuesday night in Fitzroy Harbour in the first game of the doubleheader. Jamieson hit a three run shot in the sixth and a grand slam in the seventh to lead the 56ers.

Dan Bradley had the win on the slab, while Steve Cavanagh took the loss for Fitzroy. Jim Hook had a solo homerun for WC Electric.